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My Tesla needs repair....

After 3 long awaited months, I finally received my Tesla Model S last Friday, which was one of the happiest moments of my life. Unfortunately that happiness was short lived, yesterday night I was exiting the parking in my building and the incoming car did not move as it should to give the vehicle leaving enough space to exit. In fear of having the automatic doors close on me, I miscalculated the space and I hit the wall on the right side. It's a very narrow L shaped entry/exit.

I heard a loud noise and immediately went into shock when I turned and saw pieces of the concrete wall falling off. I turned back, parked the car and noticed severe damage to the right side doors.

I called my insurance this morning and they asked me to go to their nearest collision center to get a repair estimate. The entire repair was estimated for $4,582.40 including the $2,000 deductible.

The collision center said that since the damage required new parts and no work on the aluminum body so that I could take it to an non certified tesla shop too if I wanted, I am in SoCal (Orange County).

I did a search on this forum for similar subjects and found that many recommend to get estimates from different repair shops, so with my self stem on the ground and swollen eyes from crying all night long, I got inside my broken Tesla and decided to give that a shot.

I called Class Auto Center, a certified Tesla shop that my insurance company recommended and they told me to come by next week for a full assessment.

So my first stop was at a non certified shop first with excellent reviews on Yelp. They said that they needed to check first if they could even order the parts as they had tried in the past and received very negative responses from Tesla. They suggested me to go to a certified shop in the mean time.

My second stop was at the European Motor Car Works; they assessed the damaged and the estimate and they said that it seemed like the T-post was severely damaged and that it needed replacement since the impact shifted the back door gears, etc. otherwise the replacement doors are not going to fit.They also said it that it would add additional cost and take at least 2 months of work. Since they are completely booked until October, they told me to check with other Tesla certified shop too.

My third stop was at the Spectrum Collision. Once again they assessed the damage and agreed with the initial estimate. I mentioned what the previous shop had said, so they assessed the T-post. They explained that it was indeed a possibility that it might need replacement, but that there was no way of telling whether it would or not until they try fitting the new doors in. They said they could take my Tesla right away and best case scenario if there's no damage to the t-post and pre-order the doors by tomorrow, my Tesla would only require 2 weeks of work at most.

So the clock hit 7 and my Tesla repair shop trip came to an end. I came back home feeling about the same as when I left, devastated, I can't blame myself enough for what happened, I should have checked the distances and reminded myself that the Tesla is slightly bigger than the C300 (my last rental).

I am sad to admit that my Tesla is my first vehicle (not driven though, I used to drive a lot of rentals). I've had my full drivers license for 8 years now and I've never had any tickets or accidents before, until last night. This experience is weighting very heavily on me right now, I don't have many people that I can share it with either and the last thing I was told about the t-post needing replacement completely killed my hope that this was just going to be a few weeks nightmare, it seems more and more that it's probably going to be a 2-3 month nightmare now.

I thought of posting my story in this forum as I'd figured that maybe there's others out there who have been on a similar boat. I am attaching pictures of the damaged parts (see link below for image gallery), I would really appreciate it if any of you could give me some words of wisdom, advice on how to proceed or on the estimates I was given. I'm thinking of paying a visit to 1-2 more Tesla certified repair shops and see what they have to say too.

This experience is weighting very heavily on me right now, I don't have many people that I can share it with either and the last thing I was told about the t-post needing replacement completely killed my hope that this was just going to be a few weeks nightmare, it seems more and more that it's probably going to be a 2-3 month nightmare now.

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it reminded me of this post I made to someone else in a similar circumstance:

Instead of coming out of Costco and finding that dent, imagine instead you reached into your pocket for your key and felt a lump you never noticed before. So you go to the doctor only to find out it's cancer and you have six months to live -- and only 6 months to drive your new, undented Tesla (although that's the least of your worries).

Then I magically appear and tell you that I can change that lump to a dent in your new Tesla. You're skeptical but what the heck, you have nothing to lose, and who cares about a dent, so you take me up on my offer. I wave my magic wand and immediately the lump is gone and the dent appears. So you are in the exact same situation you are in now, but you feel great -- really, really happy with a new lease on life. Soon your car will be like new again when the dent is repaired and you have your whole life ahead of you to enjoy the car.

$4582.40? Am I missing something? or is that the lowest Tesla repair quote ever written?

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I thought the same thing after looking at the pictures. I would try to make sure your insurer doesn't go with the lowest quote since it doesn't matter to you after the $2k deductible. Go with the best shop and that's usually, but not always, the highest quote, since you often get what you pay for.

I'm glad my magic wand worked, even if only a little... A dose of perspective is often the best medicine.

I thought the same thing after looking at the pictures. I would try to make sure your insurer doesn't go with the lowest quote since it doesn't matter to you after the $2k deductible. Go with the best shop and that's usually, but not always, the highest quote, since you often get what you pay for.

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I was surprised too when they told me the amount, I was expecting it to be higher since they said that both of the doors needed to be fully replaced. The European shop said that they missed the airbags replacement fee in the estimate (which should be around $175 per door). They said that the airbag sensors are only good for one time and removing the door frame activates them and makes them unusable so new ones need to be added.

We don't get second chances. These things happen so fast but we look back and wonder "how could I have been so dum"?
Not to worry you have plenty of company in that department
I just noticed I spelled dumb w/o a B .

The collision center said that since the damage required new parts and no work on the aluminum body so that I could take it to an non certified tesla shop too if I wanted, I am in SoCal (Orange County).

Stuff happens and body damage sucks on new car especially when you do it yourself... my post isn't going to help with your feelings. I tend to go into practical and solution mode when things happen and that's what my post is about.

To my eye, that's door skin damage only... as laid out correctly on the bill. B pillar would not move for that kind of superficial scrape.

The thing about airbag sensors and airbag R&R ... my bullsh*t detector went off.... I'd avoid that place like the plague. "European" in the name. You can tell these guys are digging into Mercedes Benz and BMW owner pockets who are used to spending thousands on regular repairs of those thirsty cars, you just know it. Say "thanks anyway" and move on.

Socially engineer the situation bit: One way of filtering bullsh*t out of these quotes is to lean in close and say, hey, you know this accident was own fault, it's a single vehicle claim but I don't want my insurance to pay for it if my rates are going to go up, so I would be paying out of my own pocket. I want to spend to make the car right again and look good.. and I don't have a lot of cash to spend after making the payments on the car in the first place. Can you help make this happen keeping any excess off the bill? If I wrote a cheque instead of using credit card, would that help? What if I brought in the coffee and donuts for the guys doing the work that day? You'll be my body shop for life if you do me well on this one.

Now here is maybe the shocking thing: I would actually bring the donuts. Things start happening.. they may pass on wholesale rates for parts to you, they may waive or disappear "shop fees" from the bill, the worker may do a better effort because they meet the owner and appreciate you appreciating them.

I paid $1000 to have paint protection film applied to the front facing surfaces of my S. After looking at the job, and hearing about being the first Tesla in, and extra care and special touches they paid attention to the job and seeing the extra custom pieces of film they cut in addition to the kit, etc..... I paid the bill and asked to see who did it. I knew (from the App) my car was in the bay for most of that day. I was ushered into the shop and said thanks to the woman who did it and handed her a $50 bill as tip, and said "nice job!" loud enough that her boss and coworkers noticed. Although, I had been warned "she's totally deaf" ... so I signed the words for thank you and awesome and she got the message. After dropping her jaw, her face turned into an ear to ear grin and she signed back thanks. I could tell it made an impression that will stick for her and that shop .. maybe everyone else gets a little bit better job done for it.. who knows?

If the quoted place does great work, tell them some other Tesla owners are watching closely on this forum and there could be referrals coming of it. Do this before they begin work.

Also, before work begins, get actual real references for similar work at that shop (not just Yelp) and call them and ask to see their cars with "before" pictures as well. Online reviews are so easily tainted.

It might be too late, but I'd consider NOT using insurance for this repair. It will show up as a claim on your insurance history, your rates could go up, and it will permanently mark your vehicle as having been in an accident. You can likely find a "no insurance" repair option for less money.

Go to a Tesla certified shop, wait the necessary time, pick up your 'new' car, and hit restart.
So sorry to hear about this - a few months after you get your car back, this will be a distant memory and the only concern will be if you got the repairs done appropriately

This experience is weighting very heavily on me right now, I don't have many people that I can share it with either and the last thing I was told about the t-post needing replacement completely killed my hope that this was just going to be a few weeks nightmare, it seems more and more that it's probably going to be a 2-3 month nightmare now

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I have found time is a funny thing, before you know it tomorrow will be yesterday and this accident will be something you will smile about as you relive it at parties.

Be sure to come back to this thread in a couple of months when you are whole again it wont seem that bad. (-;

Ditto that. The Tesla certified body shop in Norcal that I recently used only services Teslas, and came highly recommended. I would get my hands on the complete list and check for ratings on the ones closest to you.

BTW, like the others, I sympathize with your predicament. After just 6 weeks of ownership someone backed into mine in a parking lot and did $8000 worth of damage and knocked me out of the MS for 3 weeks waiting for repairs. The positive side of that is when you do get it back you will experience that new Tesla thrill for a 2nd time.

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